On December 7 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas and a delegation left for Ukraine to conduct a two-day formal visit.
On the first day of the visit Lt Gen J. V. Žukas will familiarise with the course of work of the Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine at the the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv Training Area and meet with Lithuanian military instructors with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Butigeidis Dragoon Battalion serving there. The Lithuanian delegation will also visit the 142nd Training Centre of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine Berdychiv to meet with Special Forces Commander Major General Ihor Luniov and Lithuanian special forces instructors taking part in a training operation there.
On December 8 Lithuanian Chief of Defence will meet with Chief of Defence of Ukraine General Viktor Muzhenko in Kyiv and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov. The meetings are expected to address bilateral and multilateral Lithuanian-Ukrainian military cooperation, security situation, and relevant issues concerning Ukraine's military reform.
Currently there are roughly 30 Lithuanian soldiers taking part in the military training operation in Ukraine.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces support Ukraine's defence reform, particularly the military sector. Since 2014, Lithuanian military instructors are sent to take part in the Ukraine's battalion training programme and special operations forces training, and actively contribute to the NCO system reform, independently and alongside U.S., Canadian, British and Polish colleagues.
On 1 July 2017 a military training mission was established in Ukraine with the mandate to send up to 60 soldiers to Ukraine in 2017-2019 to train the Armed Forces of Ukraine. of 40 instructors. Ukrainian troops are invited to study at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, MD Jonas Basanavičius Military Medical Training Centre, Division General Stasys Raštikis Lithuanian Armed Forces School. Lithuania also provides financial support to Ukrainian soldiers' studies at the Baltic Defence College.
Lithuania together with Poland and Ukraine established a trilateral brigade, LITPOLUKRBRIG, in 2014 headquartered in Lublin since 2015. In October the Brigade was named after the Great Hetman Konstantinas Ostrogiškis. Units of the Brigade are based in their home countries and assembled for exercises, the decision to deploy the Brigade to an international operation is made by general consent of all countries.
In 2016 Lithuania handed over to Ukraine unused elements of weaponry and ammunition. In the nearest while another donation of non-NATO calibre weapons and ammunition no longer used in the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be transferred to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine on the basis of the Resolution of the Government of Lithuania of 29 November 2017.
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Major Mindaugas Neimontas
Contacts: +370 5 278 5091, +370 682 25359, mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
